1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camshaft and a camshaft manufacturing method.
2. Background Information
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-82111 discloses a conventional camshaft in which a width of a sliding contact surface of a base circle portion of a cam lobe is smaller than a width of a sliding surface of a nose (lobe) portion of the cam lobe. With this conventional camshaft, a side surface of the base circle portion (where a surface pressure is smaller than at the lobe portion) is cut away by an amount according to a surface pressure imparted thereon, thereby enabling the weight of the camshaft to be reduced in an efficient manner.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved camshaft and camshaft manufacturing method. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.